It is commonplace to find in industrial settings such as washrooms and shop areas, sinks having automatic faucets. Such faucets enable a user with soiled hands and arms to actuate the faucet by activating a switch pedal or the like, which is mounted on or near the floor, by the user's foot. Such mechanisms offer certain advantages. One such advantage is that the user does not have to use soiled hands to actuate the normal on and off valves which are customarily mounted on the sink. This avoids undesirable material, which may be on the user's hands, from contaminating the upper portion of the sink as well as surrounding areas.
Another advantage of such automatic faucets is that they are generally constructed so that when the user's foot is removed from the foot actuated member the water is automatically turned off. This, of course, permits the amount of water used to be minimized, thus contributing to water conservation efforts.
An example of one such automatic faucet in the prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,680 issued Feb. 1, 1972 to Hans W. Kopp entitled Table With Liquid Outlet. This patent teaches a remotely positioned pressure actuated device imbedded in a floor and connected to a sink mounted faucet.